#53Z 


1/  tiui  ro  jjd/ 


Ko  49 


IN  THE  ENEMY'S  LINES. 

BY  A  VIRGINIA  LADT. 

t  i°n  ?y  Tay  a  few  eyenings  8inc^)  ^  the  house  of  God 
I  heard  a  lady  accost  a  soldier  friend  with  the  question  : 
Where  is  your  mother  ?     "In  the  enemy's  lines, "  was  the 
reply.     I  doubt  not  a  cloud  was  on  the  brow,  and  a  darker 
cloud  overshadowed  the  heart  of  that  son  as  he  thought  of 
one  whom  he  loved  so  tenderly  being  in  the  enemy's  lines, 
feoldier  !  where  are  you  ?     You  are  nobly  defending  your 
country  against  an  enemy  that   has    trampled    upon   her 
right*,  deprived  you  of  your  home,  and  despoiled   you   of 
your  lnhentencc.     But  you  too  are  "in  an  enemy's  lines." 
Does  no  mother's  or  sister's  heart  ache  for  you  ?     Yours 
is  an  enemy  more  subtle  than  those  now  invading  our  land. 
He  is   trampling  upon    rights    more    valuable  than    your 
national  ones-— the  rights  of  serving  your  God.     He   is 
seeking  to  deprive  you  of  your  eternal  home  and  to  despoil 
you  of  your  everlasting  inheritance.     Will  you  not  enlist 
under  the  banner  of  the  King  of  Kings— gird  on  the  armor 
that  He  who  rules  in  Heaven  offers  you,    and    drive  that 
enemy  from  his  stronghold  in -your   heart?     Intervention 
is  tendered  you— not  foreign— but  that  of  the    Friend  of 

TTi8--"?^11  the  mediation  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  has 
shed  his  blood  for  you.  His  terms  are  not  hard.  Put 
your  trust  in  him.  Give  him  your  heart.  Love  and  serve 
him.  Assert  and  maintain  your  right  1o  a  home  in 
Heaven— to  an  inheritance  incorruptible  and  undefilcd  and 
that  fadeth  not  away. 


"Seize  your  armor—gird  it  on; 
Now  the  battle  will  be  won ; 
See  1  the  strife  will  soon  be  done. 
Then  struggle  manfully. 


A 


Though  all  earth  and  hell  appear] 
Who  oan  doubt  or  who  oan  tear  ? 
God  our  strength  and  shield  is  near 
We  cannot  loee  our  cause ." 


"REMEMBER "—OR  THE  BULLET. 

His  country  was  in  danger.  The  spirit  of  the  patriot 
was  stirred.  A  youth  of  eighteen  had  gathered  his  little 
all  in  his  knapsack,  and  was  about  to  bid  his  mother  fare- 
well. With  tears  she  said  to  him,  "  Will  you  carry  this 
Bible  V     With  deep  emotion  he  answered,  "  Yes.'' 

In  all  his  marches  over  mountains  and  valleys,  that 
Bible  was  never  forgotten.  In  a  hard  battle,  when  many 
fell  at  his  side,  this  young  man  escaped  alive.  After  they 
had  taken  up  the  wounded  and  had  buried  their  dead,  he 
took  his  knapsack  from  his  shoulders  and  sat  down  alone. 
As  he  thought  of  his  spared  life,  he  thought  of  his  mother, 
and  of  his  mother's  Bible.  He  took  it  out,  and  on  looking 
at  the  cover,  found  it  had  been  perforated  with  a  ball  from 
the  enemy.  On  opening  the  Bible,  the  bullet  fell  out. 
Then  he  had  a  curiosity  to  know  where  and  at  what  pass- 
age of  Scripture  the  bullet  stopped.  He  turned  on  and  on 
until  he  found  it  stopped  at  the  words  in  Eccl.  12:  1, 
"Remember  now  thy  Creator  in  the  days  of  thy  youth, 
while  the  evil  days  come  not,  nor  the  years  draw  nigh, 
when  thou  shalt  say,  I  have  no  pleasuie  in  them."  The 
young  soldier  fell  a  weeping.  He  first  thought  of  his 
mother,  then  of  his  Bible,  then  of  God  his  Creator  and  his 
Preserver.     He  became  thenceforward  a  praying  soldier. 

When  he  returned  from  the  war,  he  had  found  the.  Sa- 
viour precious.  And  Oh,  what  a  meeting  it  was  when  he 
met  his  dear  mother,  and  showed  her  the  Bible  that  had 
saved  his  life  in  the  clay  of  battle!  And  what  was  bettor 
to  her  than  all  the  rest,  she  saw  the  sweet  passage  that  the 
^1  let  could  not  pass,  the  passage  that  had  saved  his  soul : 
mber  now  thy  Creator  in  the  day?  of  thy  youth  /' 


No.  60 

THINGS  TO  THINK  OF. 


u  What  will  it  profit  you,  if  you  gain  the  whole  world 
and  lose  your  own  soul  f" 

"  Rejoice,  O  young  man,  in  thy  youth,  and  let  thy  heart 
cheer  thee  in  the  days  of  thy  youth  ;  and  walk  in  the  ways 
of  thy  heart,  and  in  the  sight  of  thine  eyes:  but  know 
thou,  that  for  all  these  things  God  will  bring  thee  into 
judgment." 

Think  of  the  end  for  which  you  were  made  :  to  glorify 
God. 

Think  of  the  end  to  which  you  are  hastening  :  to  joy  or 
woe;  heaven  or  hell. 

Think  of  the  value  of  your  soul :    it  will  exist  for  ever. 

Think  of  death  :  you  must  soon  die.     Time  is  short. 

Think  of  judgment:  God  will  give  to  every  man  the  just 
reward  of  his  deeds;  to  the  righteous,  eternal  life;  to  the 
wicked,  eternal  death. 

Think  of  hell :  the  worm  that  never  dies,  the  fire  that 
is  never  quenched ;  and  try  to  escape  it. 

Think  of  heaven :  eternal  happiness  and  joy ;  and  en 
deavor  to  obtain  it.     Think  of  these  things. 


A  LASTING  PEACE 

Reader,  peace  ia  a  blessed  thing.     War  is  an  immen&a 
evil.     Peace  ought  to  be  prayed  for  night  and  day  by 


4t 


who  love  their  country.  But  after  all  thejre  is  only  one 
peace  which  is  lasting,  and  that  is,  the  peace  with  God 
'which  faith  in  Christ  gives. 

There  is  no  happiness  compared  to  that  which  this  peace 
affords.  A  calm  sea  after  a  storm,  a  blue  sky  after  abiaok 
thunder-cloud,  health  after  sickness,  light  after  darkness, 
rest  after  toil,  all,  all  are  beautiful  and  pleasant  things. 
But  none,  none  of  them  all  can  give  more  than  a  feeble 
idea  of  the  comfort  which  those  enjoy  which  believe  in 
Christ,  and  have  peace  ivith  God.  It  is  a  peace  which 
passeth  all  understanding. 

It  is  the  want  of  this  very  peace  which  makes  many  in 
the  world  unhappy.  Hundreds  have  every  thing  that  is 
thought  able  to  give  pleasure,  and  yet  are  never  satisfied. 
Their  hearts  are  always  aching.  There  is  a  constant  sense 
of  emptiness  within.  And  what  is  the  secret  of  all  this? 
They  have  no  peace  with  God. 

It  is  the  desire  of  this  very  peace  which  makes  many  a 
heathen  do  much  in  his  idolatrous  religion.  Thousands 
have  been  seen  to  mortiiy  their  bodies,  and  vex  their  own 
Uesb,  in  the  service  of  some  wretched  image  which  their 
own  hands  had  made.  And  why  ?  Because  they  hunger- 
ed after  peace  with  God. 

It  is  the  possession  of  this  very  peace  on  which  the  value 
of  a  man's  leligion  depends.  Without  it  there  may  be 
every  thing  to  please  the  eve.  and  gratify  the  car — forms, 
ceremonies,  services,  and  sacraments — and  yet  no  good 
done  to  the  soul.  The  grand  question  that  should  try  all, 
is  the  state  of  a  man's  conscience.  Is  it  peace?  Has  he 
peace  with  God? 

Reader,  this  is  the  very  peace  about  which  I  address 
you  this  day.  Have  you  got  it  ?  Do  you  feel  it  ?  Is  it 
your  own  ?  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  you 
shall  ha?c  lasting  peace. 


Hollinger  Corp. 
PH8.5 


